


The Adventures of Rose Harkness-Jones

by csichick_2



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Torchwood
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-24
Updated: 2012-05-24
Packaged: 2017-11-05 23:15:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/412090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/csichick_2/pseuds/csichick_2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jack and Ianto's daughter turns eighteen, she takes The Doctor up on his invitation to travel with him. She ends up experiencing much more than she ever expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Adventures of Rose Harkness-Jones

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Time Traveler Big Bang at LiveJournal.
> 
> Contains retcon and regeneration.
> 
> For purposes of this story, Children of Earth never happened.

The first time Jack met The Doctor was in 1941 in London. Or at least that's what he thought for over two thousand years. In actuality, they first met in 5074, when Jack was 28 years old. They didn't really interact, aside from a very brief exchange, but when a man is wandering about wearing a Jester Hat, claiming that they're cool and that he wears them now, it's a face you don't tend to ever forget. His memories of the young woman traveling with him are hazy – he only remembers that her name was Rose, which didn't mean anything at the time, but now he knows she was not _their_ Rose. His next clear memory is two years later. As Jack looks at The Doctor holding his baby daughter, his and Ianto's Rose, he thinks he finally figured out why he was retconned. He just has to wait eighteen years or so for his daughter to grow up before he knows for sure.

 

*****

 

Rose ponders the offer she received from The Doctor. She grew up hearing her father's and her Aunt Martha's stories of traveling with him and for years had dreamed of getting the same opportunity. But now she's old enough to know their stories were sanitized and that the adventure of traveling with The Doctor comes with great danger. She doubts she'll ever know the full story, but she suspects that the reason her father doesn't age and comes back from the dead somehow is related to The Doctor. She also knows from her tad that she was named after someone that traveled with her father and The Doctor, but no one will tell her what happened to her. All Rose knows is that she's never met the woman she was named after. She could discuss her concerns with her fathers, but she's afraid the discussion would be over before it even started, so instead she decides to pick Aunt Martha's brain about what traveling with The Doctor was really like. She figures by now, she's old enough to know.

 

*****

 

Martha makes a mental note to yell at The Doctor the next time she sees him. Rose is still so young, only having just finished her A levels a week before. Even Rose Tyler was older than that when she traveled with The Doctor. Not to mention, Rose is mature enough to ask for permission before just running off, and Martha finds it hard to believe that Jack and Ianto would allow their daughter to gallivant through time and space. As far as Martha sees it, The Doctor is getting her hopes up, only to have them dashed.

 

With the questions that Rose is asking, Martha knows she has the maturity to handle being The Doctor's companion. She doubts that will help her cause any, but if either Jack or Ianto would ask, Martha would tell them as much.

 

*****

 

“No. Absolutely not,” Ianto proclaims, vowing to kill The Doctor. After everything he put Jack through, why did he ever think that they would allow their daughter, their firstborn, to travel with him. Ianto knows he owes his life to The Doctor, but that doesn't mean he's not insane. And it also doesn't undo the things he said to Jack at the end of the universe.

 

“But Tad...” Rose all but whines.

 

“It's not all sunshine and puppies like the stories, Rose,” Ianto says. He supposes he should be grateful that his daughter is asking for permission instead of simply running off with him, but that's beside the point. And gives him the ability to keep her from going at all.

 

“You think I don't know that? Aunt Martha told me the real stories – not the little kiddie sanitized versions.”

 

Ianto narrows his eyes. The one thing everyone had agreed on – or so he thought – is that the children were never to know the stories of how traveling with the Doctor went horribly wrong – from Rose Tyler and Donna Noble, to the year that wasn't. Especially the year that wasn't. “And when did she tell you those?”

 

“When I visited her yesterday. I asked her to.”

 

“She know why?”

 

Rose nods. “She didn't seem much more thrilled about the idea than you do.”

 

“Well considering what she and your father went through, that's no surprise.”

 

“It's not like The Master is around anymore,” Rose argues.

 

“Oh yes, because he's the only evil in the whole universe,” Ianto snarks.

 

“I know he's not, Tad,” Rose retorts, giving Ianto a _you're so stupid_ look. “But he was the worst.”

 

“Only because the idiot hasn't found anyone worse yet.”

 

“Why do you always do that?” Rose asks in frustration.

 

“Do what?” Ianto asks in return, raising an eyebrow at his daughter.

 

“Assume the worst about him? He's done a lot of good too.”

 

“Did Martha tell you anything about Rose Tyler?”

 

“Of course not, no one ever does. All I know is what I was told when I was little girl – I'm named after her and she traveled with Daddy and The Doctor. I also know I've never met her.”

 

“That's because The Doctor that you seem to think so highly of went and got her trapped in a parallel world. Battle of Canary Wharf.”

 

“But that was the Cybermen and the Daleks. Daddy told me.”

 

Ianto narrows his eyes. “He told you about Canary Wharf?” He can't believe Jack has done that after all the lengths they took to shield the children from the worst of their pasts. Between him and Martha, it would be a miracle if Rose Tyler's fate was the only thing she hadn't already been told.

 

“It came up in my history class a few years ago, except they were calling it the Battle of Torchwood. I showed him my textbook and he told me what happened and that I should never, ever, so much as mention it to you.”

 

Ianto's anger at Jack dissipates somewhat, but he's not about to yield any ground to his daughter. “He wasn't there.”

 

Rose sighs. “You and I both know it would have been worse if The Doctor hadn't been there. You would have died, Tad.”

 

“Instead of going around in circles, care to explain why this is even a topic of discussion?” Jack asks, startling both Rose and Ianto.

 

“How long have you been there?” Ianto asks, glaring at him.

 

“Long enough to know you're arguing about The Doctor and that you're the one that brought up Canary Wharf so I don't need to yell at our daughter for talking about it. I just don't know why.”

 

“That lunatic wants her to travel with him,” Ianto says giving Jack an undecipherable look.

 

“And she hasn't left yet?” Jack asks, giving Ianto his own look.

 

“You cannot seriously be considering letting her go,” Ianto exclaims. “After what he did to you, what he said to you.”

 

“She's eighteen. She doesn't actually need our permission. If I were her, I would have left a note in case the TARDIS decided to interpret twelve hours as twelve months again, and been gone already.”

 

Ianto glares at his husband. “You're supposed to be on my side!”

 

Jack shrugs. “He wouldn't have asked her if he didn't think she could handle it. If she wants to go despite knowing the dangers, I'm not going to stop her.”

 

Rose kisses her father on the cheek. “Thanks Daddy.” She turns to Ianto and kisses him as well. “I'll be fine, Tad,” she says before running up to her room to pack.

 

*****

 

Rose knew that the TARDIS was bigger on the inside, but she still was surprised by how big it actually was. She also has no idea why there's a pool in the library, but she figures she's better off not knowing.

 

The first place The Doctor takes her is New New York in Five Billion Sixty-Three. At first she's put out when he tells her he's taken both the original Rose and Martha here before, just in different years, and accuses him of taking her somewhere safe simply to placate her fathers.

 

“Oi, if that were the case we would never leave Earth. There's someone here that I have questions for – I've been trying to get back here for years, but the TARDIS kept dropping me off here too late. Until now.”

 

“This is why I told them where I was going, instead of just running off,” Rose mutters.

 

“Oi! It's not like it happens all that much.”

 

“Whatever you say,” Rose says, patting him on the cheek. “Now let's go find that someone so you can ask your questions and then you can take me to new places.”

 

*****

 

The Face of Boe isn't sure whether to be surprised or annoyed when The Doctor shows up. He knew he would be returning – though it didn't mean anything at the time, he figured out ten years ago the comment he made when parting ways with The Doctor and Martha would have meant something to him. He's just surprised it's taken him this long to seek an answer. The annoyance comes from who his companion is with this visit. He already knew that his daughter traveled with The Doctor, but he also thought The Doctor would know better than to reveal his future to her. Then again, River was always the one bigger on not revealing spoilers.

 

“I've been trying to get back here for a long time but the TARDIS kept deflecting me to a completely different time until now. Until she was with me,” The Doctor explains, doing a pretty good job of figuring out what he's thinking.

 

The Face of Boe simply glares at him while silently cursing the TARDIS for having a mind of her own sometimes.

 

“Does someone want to tell me what's going on?” Rose asks, knowing there's something that everyone knows but her.

 

“Rose, meet The Face of Boe,” The Doctor says, not knowing how much of his past Jack told his daughter and therefore unsure if she'll be able to connect the dots.

 

“No... It can't be... You can't be...”

 

“Rose,” The Face of Boe says quietly.

 

“Daddy?” she asks, kneeling in front of him. “Is that really you?”

 

The Face of Boe nods, well, as least as well as he can, considering he's now a giant head in a jar.

 

“How?” she asks, having difficulty wrapping her head around the fact that her father – a much, much, much older version of her father – is in front of her.

 

“Spoilers,” he replies.

 

“Oi, you're not River,” The Doctor exclaims. “How do you even know River?”

 

“Spoilers,” he repeats.

 

“Be that way then. Pity I'll never be able to tell Martha it really is you.”

 

The Face of Boe gives him a look.

 

“Well pretend to be surprised when Martha and I show up.”

 

The Face of Boe turns his look onto Rose.

 

“I know, I know, I can't tell you. Well the you from my time.” She kisses the glass before she and The Doctor leave.

 

*****

 

“He's about to die, isn't he?” Rose asks as soon as they're back in the TARDIS.

 

“Not for another ten years, but I'm afraid so. The day I was here with Martha – or will be in his timeline – is the day he dies. Until now, every time I came back was a day later. For some reason the TARDIS didn't want me to know the answer to my question until you were with me.”

 

“What even made you think it was Daddy?”

 

“When he parted ways with Martha and me, after, well if your fathers haven't told you I'm not about to, he said that he was the original poster boy for the Time Agency and that they called him The Face of Boe.”

 

“Do you think he was leaving you a hint on purpose? And Aunt Martha told me what happened.”

 

The Doctor shakes his head. “I doubt it. Though after Rose and I came by he had to have known I would have figured it out.”

 

“I should be sad that he's going to die, but in a way I'm glad. He never talks about it, but I know how afraid he is of losing us. Everyone he loves dies, and he has to keep on going. At least now I know that someday he'll find peace. I wish there was a way to let him know, but I don't see how I can.”

 

“Maybe something will come to you – you're a smart girl. So where to next?”

 

“Let's go to the past this time. Surprise me.”

 

*****

 

“April 30, 1789. George Washington's inauguration. And what you're wearing isn't suitable for the times. There's a wardrobe in your room.”

 

“My room?”

 

“Down that way,” The Doctor says, pointing. “Impossible to miss.”

 

Rose grabs her bags and heads down the hallway that The Doctor indicated, wondering why he didn't tell her that sooner. She opens the wardrobe and stares at the clothes in awe. They all appear to both be suitable for the times and her size, so it's just a matter of picking which dress she wants. She settles on one that flatters her figure without being too revealing. The last thing she wants is to cause a riot.

 

She sticks close to The Doctor's side, both because she's unsure of the protocol for being in the past and because she's afraid of accidentally changing the future, and she doesn't want to have that weighing on her conscience.

 

*****

 

At Rose's request, the next place he takes her is more exotic. The oceans are violet and the trees are hot pink. It's almost as though they're in The Lorax.

 

They planet hop for a while, and then Rose makes the request that she knows The Doctor won't approve of. “Take me to the Boeshane Peninsula.”

 

“Rose...” The Doctor says warningly.

 

“It can be from before he was born for all I care. I don't want to change anything; I just want to see where he grew up. I only know the bare minimum of his life from before he met you.”

 

“You stay by my side the entire time. No funny business.”

 

“I promise. Besides if I change anything I'd delete myself from existence.”

 

“I'm still not letting you out of arm's length. Something like this nearly backfired on me once before.”

 

*****

 

After spending an hour in the Boeshane peninsula, Rose wonders why she knows so little about her father's upbringing. It's not Wales by any means, but it's still beautiful.

 

“It won't always be like this,” The Doctor says as though he can read her thoughts. “There will be an attack and many people will be killed. Best I can tell, Jack was a boy then.”

 

“No wonder he never talks about his past. Do you know what he real name is?”

 

The Doctor shakes his head. “If you don't know, what makes you think I would?”

 

“I just thought maybe he was still using it when he met you the first time.”

 

“He's always been Jack Harkness to me. You want to stay a little longer or are you ready to go?”

 

“I'm ready,” Rose says, turning back towards the TARDIS.

 

*****

 

The Doctor next takes Rose to New York City on April 4, 1973, the day the World Trade Center opened. “The tallest buildings in the world,” he says. “Well at least for another month when the Whatsamawhosit Tower in Chicago is completed.”

 

Rose giggles. “Whatsamawhosit Tower?”

 

“Well it's not my fault they changed the name of the Sears Tower after thirty-six years. “I have better things to do besides keep track who throws money around to get a building named after them.”

 

“Can we go up?” Rose asks.

 

“Why certainly.” The Doctor offers her an arm, which causes her to giggle again.

 

“You can see for miles,” Rose says with wonderment once they reach the observation deck. “It's amazing.” After a few minutes she turns to away from the view and back to The Doctor. “Is it hard?” she asks seriously.

 

“Is what hard?” he asks, playing dumb, though he's pretty sure he knows what she's getting at.

 

“Knowing what's going to happen, knowing all those people are going to die, and knowing you can't do a thing about it. Is it hard?”

 

“It's life,” he says with a shrug. “Though I do make a point of avoiding the year 2001 altogether. Just in case.”

 

Rose blinks and swallows to keep the tears threatening to fall at bay. “It seems so cruel.”

 

“That's because you have a good heart, Rose. So did...”

 

“Rose Tyler. If you could prevent any one thing, it would have been Canary Wharf, wouldn't it?”

 

“Yes,” The Doctor says sadly.

 

Rose hugs him fiercely. “What happened to her wasn't your fault. You had no way of knowing what that pompous bitch was up to.”

 

“I see you got the Jack Harkness version of events,” he says with a chuckle.

 

“He didn't trust the history books to tell the entire story, especially when they sent me to him with questions. He also wanted to make sure I never mentioned it to Tad.”

 

“Yes, well, it's a day we'd all rather forget.”

 

“Consider it never mentioned again. I don't like to see people sad.”

 

*****

 

On their next visit, the TARDIS clearly has a mind of her own. They were trying to visit the very first Olympic Games, but instead ended smack in the middle of a war zone.

 

“Where are we?” Rose asks, ducking back into the safety of the TARDIS. “When are we?”

 

The Doctor bangs on a few consoles and then scowls. “Somewhere that we're about to be leaving.”

 

“Doctor...” Rose says sternly, hands on her hips.

 

“Do you know what your fathers would do to me if they found out I let you run around in the middle of the German invasion of Poland?”

 

“Well then we won't tell them. She clearly brought us here for a reason, though I have no idea what it could be since we're not allowed to change things.”

 

“We're not allowed to change the natural course of history. But if someone has already altered it, we're allowed to change it back.”

 

“That's probably why we're here then. What are you waiting for?”

 

“The TARDIS to listen to me and leave.”

 

Rose glares at him. “Oh bloody hell. I'll just figure it out on my own then,” she says before exiting the TARDIS, giving The Doctor no choice but to follow her.

 

*****

 

"Are you bloody insane?" The Doctor asks when he catches up to her. "We're in the middle of a bloody war zone!"

 

"I know you've been to World War II before," Rose says, fixing him with a look.

 

"Not on the battlefield! Do you have any idea how dangerous this is? If anything happens to you out here..."

 

"Well maybe if you would stop bloody talking, we could figure out why the TARDIS brought us here and we can go on our merry way."

 

The Doctor is about to glare at her, when he sees something out of the corner of his eye. "Did your history books say anything about pink lizards?"

 

Rose turns to see what he is talking about. "That would be why we're here."

 

"And just what to you plan to do about it, Miss Know It All?"

 

"I'd think talking to them would be a start. For all we know, they're lost and scared."

 

“Well, yes, their kind is generally peaceful, but they also usually don't leave home.”

 

“All the more reason to find out why they're here,” Rose says, starting to march over to them until The Doctor grabs her arm.

 

“You might want to stay out of sight of the soldiers. They're not going to take kindly to us crashing their invasion.”

 

“True,” Rose concedes. “Might that magical wardrobe have something that would help us fit in?”

 

“I'm pretty sure they'll still be able to tell you're a woman. The only woman out here.”

 

“But if we're dressed like them, they may not look at us long enough to notice.”

 

“Oh no, no, no, I don't change clothes.”

 

Rose shakes her head. “There aren't any other men in silly bow ties out here either.”

 

“Bow ties are cool!” he protests.

 

“Not the point.”

 

“Fine, I'll change too, but only because I don't want to waste any more time arguing with you. I swear you're the worst of both of them.”

 

“If that were true, I'd be shagging everything that moved,” Rose says with a smirk, before running back into the TARDIS, The Doctor shaking his head as he follows her.

 

*****

 

Rose thanks her lucky stars that her connection to the TARDIS automatically translates everything for her, because she highly doubts pink lizards speak anything remotely close to any of the languages she speaks.

 

Fortunately they just wanted to get home. Unfortunately for them, they had no way of getting there since they had been abducted and dropped on the battlefield. Getting the lizards to the TARDIS without being detected by the combatants took nearly an hour, but they didn't exactly feel like getting fired upon by the Nazi soldiers, or dragged into the front lines by the Polish soldiers they're dressed like. Seeing as how she already knows the outcome of the battle, Rose considers either set of soldiers noticing them to be as equally likely to result in their deaths. Well her death and The Doctor's regeneration. Once everyone is safely inside and The Doctor and Rose have both changed back into their regular clothing, they take the lizards back to their homeworld. They are given a feast in their honor as a thank you, and as far as Rose is concerned, it couldn't be over soon enough. She appreciates the gesture, and behaves graciously the entire time, but the food leaves a lot to be desired and is barely edible, well at least to her. The Doctor doesn't seem to have any issues with the food, but he's also been around a lot longer and seen a lot more.

 

*****

 

After righting history, the TARDIS is much more cooperative and allows them to travel to their intended destination. The Doctor only wanted to stick around long enough for The Opening Ceremony, but Rose was able to convince him to stick around long enough for the swimming, which has always been her favorite event. After that, he declares no more trips to the past, and takes Rose back to the future.

 

*****

 

“I can't believe you're wearing that!” Rose exclaims, staring in horror at The Doctor's newest choice in headwear.

 

“I wear a Jester's hat now. Jester's hats are cool.”

 

“Cool? Cool? It's the furthest thing from cool. It's absurd.”

 

“Jester's hats are cool,” he repeats.

 

“I can't believe you,” Rose shouts. “Until you take that thing off your head, I don't know you. I'll find my way back to the TARDIS when I'm done exploring the shops.”

 

Rose is about to buy a necklace when she senses a presence behind her. “It's only worth half that much – you're being overcharged because you're not from here.”

 

She registers the vendor cursing at the person that saved her from being ripped off as she turns around to thank him. However, as soon as she lays her eyes on him, it's as though they're the only two in the marketplace. He's much younger looking, but she would still recognize her father anywhere. “I, um, thank you,” she finally stammers out.

 

“My pleasure,” he replies, giving her a flirtatious smile. “Your boyfriend is an interesting sort.”

 

“Boyfriend?”

 

“The fellow in the Jester's hat you were arguing with.”

 

“Oh him. He's my brother.”

 

“My mistake,” he replies, again fixing her with _that_ smile. “The name is James, by the way.”

 

Rose had long known that Jack Harkness wasn't her father's real name, but she's still taken aback by him using a different name, though for all she knows, that's a fake name as well. “Pleasure to meet you, I'm Rose.”

 

“So what brings you here, Rose?”

 

“Oh just, traveling,” she replies, knowing she has to be careful about what she tells him. “What about you?”

 

“I'm a Time Agent.”

 

“What's that?” Rose feels bad for prying, but she knows almost nothing of her father's life pre-Torchwood, and she can't help but be curious. She's know her father used to work for the Time Agency and why he left it from eavesdropping on her parents, but she doesn't have the slightest clue what that entailed.

 

“We travel through time and, well, fix things.”

 

“Well, that's descriptive.”

 

“If you want to know more, you'll have to become one. We could use some good, female agents.”

 

“Not only would my parents kill my brother if he allowed me to just run off, I don't like men that way.” The second part isn't actually true, but it's not like she can tell him the truth and his flirting is starting to weird her out.

 

“You probably just haven't met the right man, yet.” He moves closer as though he's trying to kiss her, and Rose knows it's time for her to make her exit.

 

“I really should be making my way back to my brother,” she says, all but running back to the TARDIS.

 

*****

 

Rose paces in frustration when she realizes she's beat The Doctor back to the TARDIS. Her run-in with her father's younger version has her rattled and the sooner they can leave the better. She might even be able to forgive The Doctor for his unfortunate choices in headwear if he makes it back before she has to go out and look for him.

 

A few minutes later he returns and thankfully is no longer wearing that bloody stupid hat. “I hear you had an interesting run-in,” he says, raising an eyebrow at her.

 

“I swear to god, if you saw that and didn't rescue me...” Rose begins.

 

“I bumped into him after you ran off. Did you seriously tell him you're a lesbian?”

 

“He was flirting with me and I didn't know what else to say!” she exclaims. “The truth certainly wasn't an option, though the part about my parents killing you if you let me run off is probably actually true. He just doesn't know that he's going to be one of them one day.”

 

The Doctor hugs Rose, hoping to calm her down. “We'll just avoid this whole millennium and hope that we can avoid him. And 1941 London and Cardiff in general unless it's when we left from.”

 

“Thank you,” Rose says gratefully. “I always wanted to know more about his past – unless it's Torchwood or you, Daddy rarely talks about it – but this was just too much.”

 

“How about I take you to Brussels, 1926?”

 

“And what might be in Brussels in 1926?” Rose asks, eying him suspiciously.

 

“It's a surprise. A good one.”

 

“In that case, let's get out of here.”

 

*****

 

“I think I love you,” Rose says when she steps out of the TARDIS and finds herself in front of the original, just-opened Godiva boutique.

 

“I've found that chocolate tends to solve almost any problem and where better to get it,” he says in reply.

 

Rose kisses him on the cheek before making a beeline for the shop. She only eats a few pieces, but she buys almost the entire inventory of the shop. The Doctor wisely doesn't say a word when she brings her bounty back to the TARDIS.

 

*****

 

They're at the Exposition Universelle of 1889 in Paris when it all starts to go horribly wrong. One moment, The Doctor is busy chattering away about the magnificence of the whole thing and then the next; he's gone completely still and silent. “Do you hear that?” he asks finally.

 

“Hear what?” Rose asks, confused.

 

“Those footsteps. They sound like marching, don't they?”

 

Rose concentrates and even then she can barely hear them. “I guess. I'm surprised you could even hear them.”

 

“They're Cybermen,” he says seriously.

 

“Bollocks,” Rose says. “What do we do now? And telling me to go hide in the TARDIS is not an acceptable answer.”

 

“I figured that out after Poland. But if it's the only way to save your life, I will tell you to get into the TARDIS and go home.”

 

“Do you expect me to actually listen?”

 

“The woman you were named after didn't, so I don't really expect you to either, but it will make me feel better.”

 

Rose laughs. “Good to know I'm living up to the responsibilities of being her namesake,” she says, before turning serious. “I know what they did at Canary Wharf. I don't want to run away, but if that's what it takes to make sure Tad doesn't lose someone else he loves to those monsters, I'll do it.”

 

“Let's hope it doesn't come to that.”

 

*****

 

Rose thanks her lucky stars that the Cybermen are only a half dozen in number, but she knows if they don't stop them, their numbers won't be that small for very long. Rose learns that the TARDIS can also travel within one time and place as The Doctor pilots it towards the Cybermen both as a distraction, and to land it on top of them. She's starting to think that her tad is on to something calling The Doctor a madman, but to her surprise, they manage to take out two of the six that way.

 

They watch the remaining four from inside the TARDIS until they're a safe enough distance away to emerge. And then, before the get a chance to act, _he_ shows up. Rose freezes in her tracks – it was bad enough running into her father's younger self before, but now that there's a battle involved, there's no way this can end well.

 

The battle passes by in a blur – she doesn't remember how they did it, but they eliminated two more Cybermen. Unfortunately, the remaining two are dragging off The Doctor so that they can convert him. Rose knows what she has to do, and as much as she doesn't want to, there's no other choice.

 

As she aims her weapon, The Doctor is screaming at Jack – James – whatever the hell he's calling himself these days – to get the hell out of there, but as she fires, he's still standing next to her. As The Doctor crumples to the ground, shot in the head, they use the distraction to eliminate the remaining two Cybermen.

 

As The Doctor gets up from the ground and starts regenerating, causing James to stare at him in shock, Rose knows why her father had two years of his memories erased.

 

“I thought they were all gone,” he says softly, still staring.

 

“He's the last of his kind,” Rose replies.

 

“He called me Jack when he told me to get the hell out of here. Why did he call me that?”

 

“I don't know,” she replies, hoping he doesn't press it, but knowing she probably won't be that lucky.

 

“You're a damn lousy liar, Rose. Which only explains part of why you were so flustered when you ran away from me three months ago.”

 

“It's been three months for you?”

 

“I'm guessing it hasn't been for you.”

 

“Only a month,” Rose says. “Wibbly wobbly timey wimey and all that.”

 

“Wibbly wobbly timey wimey?”

 

“Time isn't actually linear, which you well know. I thought I told you to get the hell out of here,” The Doctor says after the regeneration ends.

 

“Well I thought I could help, at least until I realized what you are.”

 

“That's something you're not supposed to know for a number of years, which was why I told you to leave.”

 

“I guess this is my cue to go retcon myself,” Jack – James – says awkwardly.

 

“No!” Rose exclaims, causing both of them to look at her.

 

“It has to be done Rose,” The Doctor says sternly.

 

“Not yet. He doesn't know I know this, but when I was a little girl, I heard him and Tad whispering about the two years of his memories that were missing. It's only been three months for him since the last time he saw us.”

 

“Well we'll just erase two years then. And then go about finding a change of clothes for me – who even wears bow ties anymore?”

 

“No, I won't let you. It's too soon. I will stay with him for the next year and nine months if I have to, but he is not to be retconned before then.”

 

“While I'm not about to let him travel with us,” The Doctor snaps at her.

 

“Ugh!” Rose screams. “The old you was so much more pleasant. If he can't come with us, then you'll have to leave us both behind.”

 

“And just how do you plan to get home if I do that?”

 

“I'll figure something out. He has a wrist strap for God's sake, it's not like I'll be stuck in 1889 forever.” She grabs James's hand and walks away both so she can have the last word and so she doesn't have to see the TARDIS leave. Being left behind by the doctor – even though she told him to go – bothers her more than she's willing to admit.

 

“So if the brother thing was a lie, does that mean the lesbian thing is too?” James asks.

 

“Don't even go there,” Rose snaps at him. “I'm only doing this because if he'd had his way, he'd have screwed up the future.”

 

“So that means I'm important then?”

 

“Don't go there, either. I've had eighteen years of giant egos; I don't need yours for the next year and nine months.”

 

“So how did you come to travel with, um, actually I don't think I caught his name.”

 

“The Doctor.” Rose intentionally ignores the first part of his statement, not want to reveal any more than is absolutely necessary.

 

“Doctor who?”

 

“Just The Doctor.”

 

“You never actually answered my question.”

 

Rose glares at him. “If you must know, my father traveled with him before I was born. When I finished my A-levels, he extended the same invitation to me.”

 

“Ah, so you're from Earth then. 20th or 21st century England.”

 

“Wales actually. How did you know?”

 

“A-levels. Dead giveaway. The Time Agency has sent me there a time or two. Now that you've said it, I can see the Welsh, but there's also a bit of something else in your accent.”

 

Rose glares at him because he's clearly trying to pry. "One parent is Welsh and the other is American. I guess you can say I got the best of both accents,” she says, choosing her words carefully. Jack clearly isn't American, but his accent is, so as far as lies go, it's not half bad.

 

"Two mothers or two fathers?" he asks. "And I'm saying 21st century is more likely that 20th century then."

 

She glares at him again, but says nothing.

 

"First of all, you're going to retcon me anyway, so what does it matter what you tell me? And second, you referred to your parents in gender neutral terms and not as your mother and father."

 

"Just because you won't remember it, doesn't mean I'm going to tell you my whole life story."

 

"Not asking for you entire life story. And you didn't answer my question."

 

"Well since you clearly won't drop it until I answer, two fathers. And yes, 21st century."

 

"So why Cardiff?"

 

"Pardon?" Rose asks, really hoping that he's not about to mention the rift.

 

"Why Cardiff and not well, wherever in the United States your father is from."

 

Rose mentally sighs in relief because that question just got a whole lot easier to answer. "The company he worked for transferred him to Wales. Then he met Tad and the rest, as they say is history." She then changes the subject before he can pry any further. "So, what's next? As lovely as Paris is, I really doubt we're supposed to stay here for the next year and nine months."

 

"Well I need to go back to my time and report to my superiors that the metal things haven't taken over the world. And figure out how to explain you."

 

"One, they're called Cybermen. And two, I'll handle that part. After all, everywhere you go, I go. No exceptions."

 

*****

 

The Time Agency wasn't thrilled that James had brought someone back with him, but thanks to some fast talking and sticky fingers, she's able to convince them that she's a Time Agent from their future and that James is vital to the timeline and therefore needs looking after. She feels bad about stealing the wrist strap for all of two seconds - not only was it required for the charade, she also knows she will need it to get back home. James will need his after he wakes up from the retcon and she's not about to bring him anywhere near Cardiff when that time comes. She knows better than to tempt fate and let two versions of her father ever exist in the same time. The Jack Harkness she knows - the one that raised her - has mastered the art of avoiding himself, but this younger version, James whatever his last name is, probably never has had to deal with it.

 

The first place the Time Agency wants to sends them is London in 1920, causing Rose to nearly have a panic attack. Cardiff and London aren't that far apart, and she fears that a paradox could result. She manages to convince them to send someone else by telling them a future version of James is going to be there and they're sent to Los Angeles in 1950 instead.

 

"What was that about?" he asks, once they arrive in the past, right next to the Hollywood sign of all places.

 

"Spoilers," Rose says as she glares at Jack. She was not dressed for the hike ahead of them and blames Jack since he's the one that programmed the coordinates.

 

"Spoilers?"

 

"Can't have you know your future, can we?"

 

"You're going to retcon me," he protests.

 

"But you could still screw things up between now and then if you know. I'll make you a deal, you stop prying, and when the time comes I'll tell you everything first."

 

"Deal," he says, even though he's clearly not happy about it. And honestly, neither is she, but for different reasons.

 

*****

 

If you follow all the rules exactly, life in the Time Agency can be pretty boring. Fortunately for Rose, James seems to have always been one with problems following the rules, which makes things a lot more exciting.

 

After taking care of business in Los Angeles, they take a day and play tourist in Hollywood. Rose would have loved to have taken another day to go shopping, but they're not in the right year for the best of the shopping.

 

They get sent far into the future the next time. Rose immediately recognizes it as New New York and thanks her lucky stars that they go nowhere near the hospital. It's a good 20 years before when she was here with The Doctor, but she doesn't know how long The Face of Boe was a patient here and these two versions of her father crossing paths would probably cause the entire universe to collapse, never mind the timeline. She can tell James wouldn't have minded sticking around, but she immediately brought them back to James's present – simply reminding him that they had a prisoner when he complains. She adds that she'd been there before and there's nothing to see because she's afraid he'll suggest going back.

 

It's another three months before she first meets John Hart. Watching them snog was awkward enough, but when he immediately turned the charms on her, she decides that she doesn't like him one bit and sees why Tad gets cranky even at the mere mention of the man's name. She goes back to the lesbian charade every time he tries to get into her pants – which is no fewer than three times a day – causing James to smirk at her every time, since he knows it's a bald-faced lie. The only reason she doesn't shoot either of them is to keep from destroying the timeline. He luckily only spends a week with them, but that's still almost more than she can handle.

 

After parting ways with James, they have to go prevent a pair of blowfish from crashing the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. They're forced to use lethal force, which is unfortunate. Though if she's going to have to kill an alien while with James, at least it's the trip that allows her to witness a more recent Olympics first hand – and with someone that isn't in a rush to go somewhere else.

 

Neither of them are in a hurry to explain to The Time Agency why they weren't able to subdue the blowfish alive, so once the Olympics are over, they play tourist throughout Australia. She knows they shouldn't be able to afford the extravagances of their travels, but she also knows she doesn't want to know how James is pulling it off. She guesses his con man ways started before he woke up without his memories and left The Time Agency, but she decides she can do without the confirmation. They manage to waste six weeks before they return and face the music.

 

The Time Agency surprisingly isn't all that bothered by the deaths of the blowfish, but Rose suspects they know that she and James wasted time instead of coming straight back to “the present.” They never said anything about it, but the next several jobs they're sent on are to places so boring, they couldn't waste time there even if they tried. They still find ways to make life more interesting, they just have to be more careful about it.

 

*****

 

The time passes much more quickly than she expects and all of a sudden, the year and nine months have almost completely passed. She and James haven't discussed the details of what is going to happen aside from it would be best that it happen in a time other than the ones they each call home. That means that the next job the Time Agency sends them on will be their last – Rose because she'll be returning home to her own time and James because he'll wake up from the retcon and wrongly assume they're behind his missing memories and go rogue.

 

*****

 

Rose wakes up feeling a sense of dread. Today is the day she's to retcon James and while they both know it needs to be done, they both have avoided talking about. While most days, she regretted making the promise to tell him everything before retconning him, today she's glad she did. Because after she's finished telling him all the things he's not supposed to know yet, any misgivings she has about the retcon, will be replaced by the urgency to get it done as soon as possible.

 

Rose takes her time making sure all her belongings are gathered. Once the deed is done, she's going to want to head home ASAP, but she also wants to put things off as long as possible. She doesn't know how her fathers manage to retcon people all the time, but she's hoping this is the one and only time she ever has to do it.

 

After the most awkward breakfast in the history of awkward breakfasts, Rose decides that put this off any longer will just make it even more painful.

 

"So, um, in case you haven't guessed by now, I'm someone from your future," she begins.

 

"I gathered as much," he says in response.

 

"I'm your daughter, well one of them."

 

"I'm guessing that makes me the parent that traveled with that madman."

 

"That's Tad's line, not yours. Though his previous regenerations were better than the one you encountered in Paris. Well, mostly."

 

"Mostly?"

 

"I should start at the beginning."

 

"Sounds like a good idea."

 

"When you wake up from the retcon, you're missing two years of memories. You assume the Time Agency was behind it, so you go rogue. I don't know all the details, but you end up taking the name of an American Captain that died during World War II."

 

"What was his name," he asks, interrupting her.

 

"Jack Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness. You meet The Doctor during the London Blitz, while he's traveling with a young woman named Rose Tyler. You end up joining them, at least for awhile. There was a battle with the Daleks - The Doctor sent Rose back to her time in the TARDIS, believing the battle to be lost and wanting to both save her and keep the Daleks from getting their hands on Time Lord technology. However, Rose wasn't about to abandon him - and you. She looked into the heart of the TARDIS, which took her back to the battle. In the meantime, the Daleks had killed you and were closing in on The Doctor. Rose used the powers of the Time Vortex to wipe out the Daleks, and at the same time brought you back to life. However, you weren't able to get to the TARDIS in time and you were left behind."

 

"Well, they did think I was dead. I suppose I can't blame them that much. And I'm assuming I still had my wrist strap."

 

"You did. You tried to go back to Cardiff in the early 21st century - because of the Rift - but it took you to 1869 instead. And then you died."

 

James looks at her curiously. "You said you were from the 21st century, but I landed in Cardiff during the 19th - the math isn't adding up."

 

"When Rose brought you back to life, she didn't quite do it right and made you immortal."

 

"So I die, come back to life, and then live forever."

 

"Well, not quite. You can still die, but you come back to life - usually after a few minutes, but one time it took three days. You do eventually die permanently, but you'll be five billion years old, give or take a few thousand."

 

"Five billion?"

 

Rose nods. "You age very slowly, so you never got older during my childhood, but by then, you looked a little different." Rose leaves out the details of him become a giant head in a jar - both because she has no idea how that actually happens and because some things he really doesn't need to know."

 

“That's why you wanted you leave New New York so quickly.”

 

Rose nods. “We might have been there early enough to be fine, but I wasn't about to take any chances.”

 

"So what happens after I get stuck in 1869?"

 

"I'm not sure how you spend the next thirty years; I just know you learned of your immortality during that period. In 1899, you're recruited to work for an agency called Torchwood. They were interested in you both because of your immortality and because of your connection to The Doctor. On New Year's Eve 1999, the head of Torchwood Cardiff killed all the mortal members of the team and then himself, which put you in charge."

 

"Why did he do that?"

 

"I don't know. My sister Alice was born in 1975 - I don't if you had any children before that or not, but I know the next one after her was me and I was born in 2008. Alice has a son Steven - he was born in 1998. She told him you were his uncle when he was a child, but he knows the truth now. It took awhile, but he forgave her for lying to him throughout his entire childhood."

 

"She couldn't have been happy when you came along, considering you're younger than her child."

 

"I think she was more bothered by the fact that Tad is eight years younger than her."

 

"So how did I meet him?"

 

"I'm getting there. You starting rebuilding the Torchwood Team, and then in 2007, the branch in London royally screwed up. Ended up getting attacked by Cybermen and Daleks, and lots of people died. It would have been worse had it not been for The Doctor. He was gone again by the time you got to London from Cardiff. Rose Tyler was listed among the dead, but she was actually trapped in a parallel world."

 

"You were named after her, weren't you?"

 

Rose nods. "She was - or rather will be - very important to you."

 

"Did I know she was actually still alive?"

 

"Not at the time, but you found out about a year or so later."

 

"So what happened next?"

 

"Her majesty disbanded Torchwood London for causing the whole mess and you went back to Cardiff. Shortly after, one of the survivors of The Battle of Torchwood kept pestering you for a job. You shot him down a few times, but then he won you over with a nice suit and Myfawny."

 

"Myfawny?"

 

"Sorry, Torchwood's pet pteranodon. I'm not sure where or how Tad found her, but I'm sure glad he did."

 

"And then the next line is 'the rest, as they say, is history?'' he asks.

 

"Not quite. Tad had an ulterior motive - his girlfriend had been partially converted by the cybermen and he was hoping to use Torchwood technology to save her. The worst of the details have been intentionally withheld from me, but it didn't end well. The two of you started carrying on in secret a month or two later. And then you ran off with The Doctor again - it was for a few months to Tad, but it was a whole year to you."

 

"I told him where I was going, right?"

 

Rose snorts. "The Doctor tried to run away from you again, so you were in a hurry. And hitched a ride on the outside of the TARDIS."

 

"What do you mean, again?"

 

"The Doctor knew you were alive when he and Rose left you behind. He did it because in his words you were wrong."

 

"Because I couldn't stay dead?"

 

Rose nods. "After that some really bad things happened - don't make me talk about them, and when you returned to Cardiff, you took Tad out on a proper date. And then I happened."

 

"Wait, you mean I... I said I was never doing that again."

 

Rose smirks. "I have three younger sisters and a brother."

 

He looks at her in horror. "All five of you?"

 

"What can I say? You and Tad really love each other."

 

He shakes his head. "So do we still work for Torchwood?"

 

"You do, but Tad is more or less retired. A few too many close calls - don't make me talk about those either. Torchwood employees usually have a short lifespan, so Daddy wanted him to get out while he still could."

 

"So what's next for you?" James asks, letting Rose off the hook so she doesn't have to relive anything too painful.

 

"I go home, I guess," Rose replies with a shrug. "I used the five finger discount to obtain this for a reason," she adds, holding up the arm with the wrist strap.

 

"You going to go back to when you left from or allow for the time that's past since you left?"

 

"I need to go back to when I left. Too hard to explain why I disappeared for almost two years with no explanation."

 

"Just make sure it's a few days later, so you don't accidentally cross yourself."

 

"I'm not planning on causing any paradoxes. Which again, is where the five finger discount comes in - I need to get home and I can't use yours."

 

"Any thoughts on what you're gong to do after you get home?"

 

"I'd been planning to go to Uni, but I don't know any more - after everything I've seen, it seems kind of boring now."

 

"Well the best in luck with whatever you do," he says, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "I guess we can't put this off any longer then."

 

Rose wordlessly pours a glass of water and adds the required amount of retcon - they're gone over it so many times, that she does it on autopilot.

 

"I'm sorry," she says, as she passes him the glass.

 

Rose waits until her father's younger version has fallen asleep before setting coordinates on her wrist strap and teleporting out.

 

*****

 

Despite what she says about going back home, that's not where Rose goes. She has something she needs to do first.

 

New New York looks like it did when she left it almost two years ago, though for the person she's there to see, only a week has passed if she programmed the wrist strap correctly. She starts to get nervous as she walks the corridors of the hospital - he wasn't that happy when she showed up with The Doctor and she imagines he'll be even less happy now. She needs to get everything off her chest though, and even if he weren't finally close to death, as a giant head in a jar, there wasn't anything he would be able to do about it anyway.

 

Sure enough, The Face of Boe fixes her with a glare when he sees her.

 

"It's just me this time. The Doctor and I had a little bit of a difference of opinion about you and I found alternative transportation,” she says, holding up her arm to reveal the wrist strap.

 

His reaction is to roll his eyes at her, which she finds oddly reassuring.

 

"I don't know what you already know, but I can't tell the you of my time everything and I need to tell someone, so bear with me," she says.

 

He nods for her to continue.

 

"It wasn't the Time Agency that stole two years of your memory," she begins, absently fiddling with the wrist strap. "It was me. I didn't really have a choice; I had to make sure you wouldn't remember The Doctor since you always said you first met him after rescuing Rose from the barrage balloon. You knew too much, too soon, and I had to fix it."

 

"I forgive you," he says slowly.

 

Rose releases the breath she didn't even know she was holding. "I ran into you in a market. I told you I was a lesbian because you didn't know who I was and were flirting with me. Three months later for you and a month later for me, the Cybermen decided to crash the Exposition Universelle of 1889. The Doctor and I were already there, and you ended up showing up too, sent by the Time Agency. Had you left when The Doctor told you to, things would have been fine, but you ended up seeing him regenerate. He wanted to retcon you right then and there, but I knew it was too soon. He wasn't about to let you travel with us, so I stayed behind and became your shadow until the time was right. I told you everything I knew about your life between then and my now. Then, I retconned you. And now I'm here telling you about it since I know if I tell you when I go home, you'll go steal my stolen wrist strap and screw something up."

 

"Would not," he responds, though the smile he gives her reveals that he knows he would.

 

"Whatever you say," she says, placating him.

 

"Go home, Rose. Live the life you were meant to live."

 

Rose crosses the room, and like the first time she was there, presses a kiss to the glass. "Thank you for letting me tell you."

 

She quickly turns and leaves the room before he can tell she's about to cry. It's time for her to go home.

 

*****

 

Rose had intended to transport into her bedroom and hope no one was home to realize there was no TARDIS, but of course she couldn't be that lucky. Not only does she land in the middle of the living room, but Jack is sitting there reading the newspaper.

 

“Welcome home,” he says, quickly standing up and hugging her tightly. “It was you, wasn't it?” he asks her quietly before letting her go.

 

“What was me?” Rose asks. _Please don't let him be asking what I think he's asking_ , she thinks to herself.

 

“I wasn't born yesterday, Rose. I've also retconned a lot of people.”

 

“How do you... You weren't supposed to...” Rose begins, not sure what exactly to say.

 

“I don't know what you erased, but I still remember seeing you arguing with The Doctor over that jester's hat.”

 

“You knew before I ever left with him, didn't you?” Rose asks quietly. “That's why you argued with Tad when he didn't want me to go.”

 

“I suspected as soon as his current incarnation wandered in when you were a baby. I just wasn't sure until you came back via wrist strap instead of in the TARDIS.”

 

“He regenerated again. I didn't get along all that well with the new version – you weren't kidding when you said he's different each regeneration.”

 

Jack raises an eyebrow. “Oh, do tell.”

 

“I retconned you for a reason, Daddy.”

 

“And it's over two thousand years in my past now,” Jack argues

 

“So you wouldn't steal my _borrowed_ wrist strap while I wasn't looking and go change what happened?” Rose asks, fixing her father with a look.

 

“Of course not.”

 

“Of course you would. Especially since his new face hasn't dropped in on us. Or at least not that we know of, seeing as how the only one of us that knows what he looks like just got back,” Ianto says, stepping into the room.

 

“No, I wouldn't,” Jack shoots back. “And how long have you been standing there?”

 

“Long enough to know you would,” Ianto responds. “Rose did what she had to do, drop it, Jack.”

 

“But...” Jack begins.

 

“Tad's right, Daddy. If the time is ever right, you'll know. But I don't know when that will be.” Technically Rose does know, but she can't exactly tell him that. Besides, that may not have been the first time he found out, only time will tell.


End file.
